The Story Behind Former Journey Frontman Steve Perry’s Return to the Stage

A lot of croquet contributed to the first performance in two decades by the former lead singer of Journey.

Steve Perry, whose pipes were responsible for Journey’s most epic hits, took the stage Sunday night at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul, Minn. The occasion wasn’t a hell-freezes-over reunion with his former “Don’t Stop Believin’” bandmates. Instead, his unannounced appearance (his first public performance since his last solo tour in 1995) happened during an encore by Eels. A 1990s alt-rock band known for introspection, wry wit and melancholy, Eels would seem to have zero in common with Journey.

That made the joint performance “such a non-sequitur,” said Eels frontman Mark Oliver Everett, who goes by E. “Eels has a rich secret life that is rarely revealed, and part of it is that we’re good friends with Steve Perry.”